Electric railway



' (No Model.) 7 e i F. M. ASHLEY.

. ELECTRIC RAILWAY. N0. 514,113 Patented Feb. 6, 189 4.

WIT ESSES: iNVENTOR ATTOR NE ma NATIONAL umuemwme coMPANY.

WASNINGTON. 0. c.

I UNITE I-TATFES A'TENT FRANK M. ASHLEY, OF HAWTHORNE, NEW JERSEY.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 514,113, dated February6, 1894.

Application filed December 23, 1892. Serial No. 456,137. (No model.) i

' employing an overhead conductor.

The object of'the invention is to produce a system of this character inwhich short sections of the overhead conductor only are supplied withcurrent, whereby leakage is to a great extent prevented.

A further object of the invention is to provide a connector for thesections of the overhead conductor which shall be simple in constructionand etticient. Y

The invention consists of the construction hereinafter described andclaimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a cross-section of theroad-bed and the overhead conductor, showing-an end elevation of theear. Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are details of the trolleywire connector. Fig. 5is a plan of the traveling switching apparatus and conductors in theconduit.

A, A, are the rails upon which the car B travels. Between the rails is aclosed conduit 0 containing a continuous rail 0 and a sectional rail 0'which serve as electrical conductors and as a track upon which atraveling switch 0 may move. The switch is an iron body mounted uponwheels and as it moves along through the conduit it switches the currentfrom the main conductor successively into the sectionsof the sectionalconductor through its axles. The car carries an electromagnet d, thepole of which runs close to the top plate of the conduit, and themagnetic attraction between the magnet and the iron body of thetraveling switch causes the latter to move along in unison with the car.This magnet may be in direct or a shunt circuit with the motor. Alongthe roadway is placed a series of hollow posts 6 which extend above thecar and have lateral extensions at the top, the extremities of whichcarry connectors,

which-connect and support a sectional trolley wire f. The trolley wireis divided into sections equal in length to the sections of theconductor c in the conduit, and the corresponding sections along theroad are electrically connected together by branch wiresg extendingthrough the hollow posts. The lateral extensions from the top of theposts are hollow and at their extremities are bent downward andscrew-threaded externally to receive the collar 71.

e, 7," respectively represent two metallic plates clamped to theopposite sides of ablock of insulating materialj. The upper ends ofthese metallic plates are provided with horizontal flanges i whichextend around the upper edge of the block of insulating material to formears through which bolts 2' may pass to secure the structure 2', t", jto the collar h. A'hood k is clamped between the collar and flanges bythe same bolts "5 The sections of the trolley wire are passed throughopenings in the lower end of the block of insulating material and bentbackward into the metallic plates 7;, e" respectively. As these twoplates are insulated from each other the sections of the wire will alsobe insulated. The branch wire g passes through the hollow extension atthetop of the pole and downward through the center of the block ofinsulating material j and is bent laterally to stand against the plate2" and around the bolt j where it is clamp ed. The current from thisbranch is led, therefore, to the plate '5, and to the section of thetrolley wire connected thereto. The current is taken from the trolleywheel I on the end of pole Z fixed to the top of the car in the usualmanner.

It will be seen that as the car moves along the current will besuccessively taken from the main conductor 0, thence by branch wire g tothe corresponding section of the trolley wire and thence it is taken bythe trolley to the motor on the car.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. In an electric railway, thecombination of an overhead wire divided into sections, an undergroundwire divided into corresponding sections, branch wires connecting thecorresponding sections of the two wires together,

and a hanger located at the joints, between tween them, the hangerconsisting of plates the sections of the overhead wire, the same 1', i,insulating block j, bolt 9", collar h and consisting of two metallicplates bolted to the hood 7c, substantially as descrlbed.

opposite sides of a block of insulating mate- In testimony whereof Isubscribe my signa- 5 rial, the ends of the wire sections being conturein presence of two witnesses.

nected respectively to the two metallic plates 1 J and a said branchWire connected to one of said FRANK ASIH metallic plates, substantiallyas described. Witnesses:

2. Thecombinat-ion oftwo sections of a trol- J 0s. J. UHL,

xo ley wire and a hanger located at the joint be- Mrs. F. M. ASHLEY.

